Empty Promises
by honestgrins
Summary: They had an eternity to understand what they were to each other. HAD. (Klaroline Appreciation Week 2018)
1. Aftermath

**Klaroline Appreciation Week 2018 Day One:** Fixing TO S5 Canon

 _Post-TO 5x06, because I want to know what happened when Caroline woke up from that broken neck._

* * *

Gasping awake in the passenger seat, Caroline cringed at the tell-tale pain in her neck. She squinted to see Klaus in the driver's seat with clenched hands on the wheel. "What happened?"

Uneven breaths startled her from the backseat; Hope was passed out, her face slack and wan. Worse, Caroline smelled a familiar decay. She glanced to the hatchback, a dusty sheet crumpled over something she couldn't quite see. "Klaus?"

"Hayley died," he explained curtly, "she saved Hope from that wretch I should have killed decades ago." As they drove through what she assumed was the bayou just after nightfall, his eyes shone bright gold. "I would apologize for Elijah snapping your neck, but I'm sorry to say that was the least of his offenses."

Caroline blinked while she processed the vague implications. Though tempted - nearly compelled - to comfort Klaus, she wasn't sure how to go about it. "I'm okay," she finally said, rubbing absently at her still sore neck. "Is Hope-"

Klaus shook his head, all but vibrating with anger. "Exhaustion, she'll wake soon enough. Too soon."

His voice sounded so defeated it left Caroline heartbroken. On impulse, she pulled one of his hands off the wheel and folded it between her own. "I can't tell her," he admitted. "I don't know how."

 _Like she knew any better_. She did her best to keep her daughters safe, made easier through a supportive community rallying around the school's mission. The only lingering trauma in their lives so far was the loss of Jo, which was abstract at best outside of Alaric's memories. Not only was she out of her depth, Caroline and Hayley had a cordial relationship at most - hardly a helpful perspective for mourning a loved one lost. So, she tried the next best advice. "You figure it out," she answered, her tone soft in worry. "All you can do is be there for her. Hold her while she cries, help her deal with whatever comes next. Find her a good therapist, I don't know."

"She needs her mother," Klaus argued, careful to keep his volume low for fear of waking Hope while Hayley's body still lay so close.

Caroline squeezed his hand. "She needs you, too. More than you know." She bit her lip, deciding whether to share. "Hope asked me about you, you know."

Frowning, Klaus met her eyes. "It was when Hayley first brought her to Mystic Falls," she said, her fingers nervously toying with the ring on his hand. "Hope was nervous, not sure how to connect with the other kids. The social atmosphere was fun and exciting, but it also wore her out. Adults were easier for her. She was used to adults."

He looked back at his daughter through the rearview mirror, frown deepening.

Caroline continued, lost in the memory. "I hadn't realized she snuck into my office until she shoved a picture frame in my face, one she'd pulled from my bookshelf."

"You ought to be more aware of your surroundings, sweetheart," Klaus admonished.

Rolling her eyes, she lightly pressed a nail into his palm. "I get it, you're a bajillion years old and I'm the naive baby vampire."

He licked his lips, dimples making a slight appearance in his cheeks. "It's been more than a decade," he pointed out. "And you've been through more than most young vampires. Not all villains are so enthralled by sharp words from a pretty face."

"Enthralled?" she teased. Klaus actually relaxed into a smile, a small one, but it made her feel better. The frantic, weary and untethered hybrid was scarier to her than memories of seething expressions and venomous fangs. "Whatever, let's just chalk it up to Hope's stealthy gene pool."

Klaus let his thumb stroke the skin of her wrist. "What was the picture?"

A blush rose in her cheeks. "It was a letter," Caroline answered. "Your letter. Hope saw your name, was deeply curious. Nosy like you." Maybe it was silly to keep the note, but her grandma's antique silver frame was just collecting dust in storage. Age begets age, she figured, and even she could admit a reminder of his gift and utter belief in her abilities was an ego boost. When Hope found it, the note of accusation in her voice left Caroline wondering how such a little girl could live with such suspicion built into her veins. Not that she could blame her; Klaus was the boogeyman for a reason, and enemies lurked everywhere.

But Klaus wasn't her villain, and that was a tough story for Caroline to explain to his daughter.

She heard him swallow, though she didn't chance looking up at him. "Anyway, she asked how I knew you. She wanted any and all stories I had. I gave her what I could, because she loved you and missed you." It hurt when her own father left for Georgia, chasing love and a dream that couldn't include her. For Hope, the situation was compounded by horror and guilt and all those emotions too heavy for tiny shoulders. Caroline could only hope Klaus was finally ready to help lift that burden. Call it foolishness, but she thought he was. "Now, she has _you_."

"What if I'm not enough?"

It was Caroline's turn to frown. All her conviction meant nothing if he didn't believe it, and motherhood had honed her pep talks for tough love. "You're what she has, so buck up. One parent is better than none, take it from a child of a nasty divorce."

He glared. "Not the same."

Shrugging, Caroline glanced back to Hope. "I think the lesson still applies. Maybe check out the therapist angle for real, work things out with a trained professional." Klaus gave a helpless chuckle, taking her by surprise. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," he tried, only for her to poke his shoulder. His wistful smile turned sad. "I actually had one for a while, when I first returned to New Orleans. She died, too."

Her mouth pursed, his expression painfully familiar; it was the same one she wore when talking about Stefan. Echoes of grief rang hollow in her chest, and Caroline found herself squeezing his hand more tightly in comfort, for both him and herself. "I'm sorry."

As they pulled into the city, Hope twitched in the backseat. Klaus sped up, hoping to reach the compound before she fully roused. "I need to get her home, I need-"

"We'll get there," Caroline answered, not letting go of him. "We will."


	2. Perspective

**Klaroline Appreciation Week 2018 Day Two:** Favorite New Quote

 _Caroline has to convince her daughters to help the big bad wolf._

* * *

"Why should we help Dope's dad?"

Caroline looked up at the ceiling, determined to count all the way to ten without yelling. While there might be plenty Mystic Falls alumni chuckling over the karma of her raising mean girls, she didn't have time for their antics when Klaus was actively trying to die. " _Hope_ ," she countered tersely, bringing her glare down to face her hellions, "is in danger, and her dad has found a really crappy solution that unfortunately involves you. But he's my friend, and he needs my help. Which means I need yours."

Frowning, Josie and Lizzie glanced to each other warily. "You don't have friends," Lizzie pointed out. Her hip popped as she crossed her arms, and Caroline fought the urge to roll her eyes at the mirror image of her younger self. Yep, Liz Forbes's ghost was laughing it up right now.

"Uncle Matt, Aunt Bonnie," Josie argued, only for Lizzie to scoff.

"Aunt Bonnie avoids this place like it's haunted."

 _It is,_ Caroline wanted to say, but that was beside the point. "He's an old friend, yes, but a friend nonetheless."

Josie shrugged, looking unsure. "Dad says he's the bad guy, one of the worst."

Caroline should have known Ric was running interference. Her tongue wet her lips, a nervous energy making its way up her spine. "Klaus- I know your dad has told you stories about this place, and I've told you about Bonnie, and Elena, and Stefan. For a while, it felt like it was us against the world, you know?" Literally, in some cases. "And for another while, it was us against Klaus. He's...a very old vampire, his werewolf gene bound by his mother's magic. A thousand years later, he got what he needed to break that binding curse."

"Elena," Josie answered, ever her father's history nerd.

Nodding, Caroline went to sit on the couch, glad when the girls joined her. "Elena," she confirmed. "I hated him for all the crap he put us through, and that was even before he killed my boyfriend. Temporarily." Tyler was a long-healed sore spot, except for the thread of hate she still held for Damon killing him for real. "And then he tried to kill me, twice."

"Yeah, sounds like a great guy we help." Lizzie's voice was snide and condescending, but Caroline heard the note of concern in it.

She smiled wanly, a small lift of her lips. "It's a _long_ story," she sighed. "Klaus was a villain, yes. But he was more than that sometimes, especially to me. And now he's trying to be a hero." Her smile fell, a deep sadness emptying a hole in her heart. "A stupid, stupid hero."

So much for being her last love, but she could at least give him one last confession. Though he didn't have to become another freaking martyr to prove it, Klaus wasn't the villain in her story.


	3. What a Waste

**Klaroline Appreciation Week 2018 Day Three:** Favorite TO S5 Scene

 _It's Klaus's first visit to the Salvatore Boarding School, and Caroline finds him in the memorial garden._

* * *

Caroline clenched the watering can in her hand, her whole body tense with the shock of finding Klaus at Stefan's memorial. "I thought you were going to spend time with Hope, prepare her for tonight's turning."

"She and Elijah are still out and about, I need them to patch things up if I'm going to leave her in his care," Klaus explained tiredly. He looked over her his shoulder toward her, eyes landing on the rings she wore around her neck. "I figured I would stay and visit an old friend."

Rolling her eyes, Caroline moved to sit next to him on the bench she had placed in front of the small garden they'd planted in Stefan's honor. "Your first time visiting your daughter's school and you'd rather hang out with ghosts," she sighed. "You know, you'll probably see him soon enough. Tell him I said 'hey,' would you?"

Klaus's smile was a weak thing, fists tight in his jacket pockets. "I doubt he'll be what welcomes me, wherever I end up. He wasn't exactly my biggest fan." His smile softened into something tender when she slipped an arm through his. "I told him to let you go, once upon a time, when he couldn't do right by you."

"He told me." Caroline tightened her hold on him, her voice thick with sadness. "And I hated you a little for that over the next three years. But you were also right. Look at my wedding night." Not even an hour's wedded bliss and the groom blew himself up. "That stupid husband of mine was good at two things, saving the world and breaking my heart." Her hand raised to play with her necklace as a tear rolled down her cheek. "God, I loved him. I wish it was easier to hate him, just a little."

"Will you hate me?"

Caroline shrugged, the warmth of him so temptingly close. "I wish I could," she answered simply. Her eyes didn't leave the daisies growing like white lights among dark greens and colorful wildflowers. "But you're saving your daughter. Even the world." The mood felt heavy as tears started falling in earnest. "Leave me another check and I'll get you a memorial, too," she joked.

Turning his head, Klaus pressed a kiss to her temple. They sat like that for a long while, longer than he could spare. "I'll leave you to your visit," he finally said.

"Find Hope," Caroline said, letting him pull free. It sounded like a final plea, to find hope of another solution.

She didn't want to build another memorial.


	4. Bad Things

**Klaroline Appreciation Week 2018 Day Four:** Best TO S5 Moment

 _Well, the walls are already covered with blood. Who could blame Klaus for wanting to tease the monster inside Caroline?_

* * *

Caroline scrubbed at the wall, fuming at the needless blood splatter. "Seriously? You're over a thousand years old, you should know how to avoid the carotid. It's just wasteful."

Barely wiping the glass cabinets clean, Klaus shrugged. "The goal wasn't dinner, sweetheart, but to send a message. I was sated by two, maybe three. It was the others fighting back that allowed me to get...creative."

Her fangs itched to release at the thought, the overwhelming scent of blood finally starting to affect her senses. Eyes dark with hunger, Caroline snarled up at him, "You're just drawing attention to yourself, letting your own daughter think she's lost her father for good."

"Careful," he warned.

She could see the gold in his eyes from across the room, but it didn't stop her from goading him further. "Destroying priceless homes, avoiding the people that love you, casual murder," she accused, throwing her rag down. "Whatever is going on with you, get the hell over it and grow up."

This time, he was the one pushing her up against the wall. Leaning in, his breath ghosted across the pulsing veins along her eyes. "Such ferocity," he murmured. "Tell me, is your precious control really worth missing the true experience of vampirism? All this blood, yet you barely glance at the still warm bodies just begging for a bite."

Caroline flinched against his hold, fangs digging into her bottom lip. His tongue flicked against the small drop of blood she drew, his hands pinning her all that stopped her from lunging in for a better taste of him. With a deep breath, she frowned. "You don't get to tell me about being a vampire, I'm too busy raising my children. Keeping _yours_ safe."

"Yes," Klaus drawled. "You must be worn to the bone with work, here in France."

"I'm here for you, you jerk," she snapped, shoving him off her. "Rebekah called me and said you were in over your head. I told Ric I was scouting for new faculty and hopped on a plane. So I'm sorry that I'm not living up to my vampire potential, but at least you're doing plenty of bad things for the both of us."

In a second, she was pressed back against the wall, Klaus's lips trailing the column of her neck. "There are many bad things I'd like to do with you," he said wolfishly. Bringing her hand to his mouth, he slipped a finger stained with secondhand blood into his mouth. "We never did manage to get bloody in that forest, did we? It's a regret I had always hoped to rectify."

For a weak moment, she wanted to let him make dirty promises, to turn a deaf ear on her better angels and melt into her personal demon. She nearly did when his mouth traveled up to her ear, his wicked tongue flicking the sensitive skin just underneath perfectly. "Come on, sweetheart, I dare you," he whispered.

Unfortunately for them both, it reminded her that she was in no position to be accepting his dares. "No," Caroline said, sounding defeated. "No, I have a job to do, and you have a call to make. Talk to your daughter," she ordered. "If you drop this whole Klaus the Mad thing, then maybe you can meet me for a drink."

Klaus froze against her, so still she wondered if he even breathed. "Caroline-"

"You promised me Paris once upon a time." She gave a small smile at his dumbfounded expression. "Call Hope, she deserves to know you're okay. Your sister, too." And she walked away, mentally adding a note to call in a tip for the remaining bodies and a discreet housekeeping service. Actually, the building was historical; maybe a restoration team would be more appropriate.


	5. At My Door

**Klaroline Appreciation Week 2018 Day 5:** TO S5 Underappreciated Moment

 _Caroline finally comes to New Orleans, though not in the spirit Klaus had hoped._

* * *

It was never in question if Caroline would show up at his door, not after the temptation he'd promised all those years ago - it was merely a matter of when. How many times had he wondered how she might appear? Even as time attempted to dull his memory of a sharp tongue and biting smiles, Klaus knew her arrival in New Orleans would be a thing to behold.

If only it had finally happened under better circumstances.

She rang the doorbell, against all expectation he had of the brazen blonde who once stormed into his home to demand a prom dress, and looked far too pale. "Hope is missing." Before he could crush the polished trim of the doorway, Caroline pressed a calming hand to his chest. "We think she ran away with a boy, and I have a feeling they're on their way here. I just needed to tell you myself in case there were larger hijinks at hand."

"Always," he bit out. "None involving Hope, not directly anyway. When was she last seen?"

Caroline looked grim. "She was in bed for the nighttime check but missed breakfast. They must have left early this morning."

Klaus shook his head, a familiar rage filling him. "Tell me everything you know about the boy," he said, moving to rush out the door except Caroline stepped in front of him. "My child is in danger, I suggest you get out of my way."

"My car is outside," she answered in a placating voice, which only served to irritate him further. "I have our tracking class on it, they're feeding me updates. In the meantime, we should check her favorite haunts around here. I had hoped she would come here first."

Seething, Klaus gently shoved Caroline aside. "If she came here willingly at all."

Though it seemed like she wanted to roll her eyes, Caroline gave a chagrined nod instead and followed him out to the SUV. "That's why I came to you, in case I need hybrid backup."

Klaus opened the passenger side door, sending a hard glare over the roof to Caroline. "One day, I will remind you of more pleasurable reasons to come to me," he swore, voice low with intense anger courtesy of the situation. "Hope won't be in your care forever, leaving you far fewer excuses to show up in New Orleans."

"Better not raze it looking for your daughter, then," she shot back, sliding into the car. "Let's keep cool until we know there's something to get all murder-y over, okay? First, we find Hope, _then_ you can brag about getting me out of Mystic Falls."

His skin still tight with an anxious fear, Klaus filed away that comment for later consideration. The circumstances weren't good, but Caroline was still there. And she was there for him.


	6. Parallel Lines

**Klaroline Appreciation Week 2018 Day Six:** Parallels

 _Never the twain shall meet again_.

* * *

Klaus awoke with a start, his chest sore. Rage burned his blood when he realized why. "What-"

"I talked Ric down, and the girls agreed to the spell," Caroline explained tiredly. He turned to see her curled up in an armchair and recognized their surroundings as her office. A pile of clothes sat next to him, likely to replace the bloody mess of his shirt. "They settled for skirts and a dance, though I probably should have sicced them on you. You're loaded, right?"

"Aiming for another check, love?"

Caroline narrowed her eyes. "Just leave me something nice in your will," she snipped.

Frowning, Klaus rose to a sitting position with his arms resting on his knees. The air in the room felt suddenly stale with their solemn mood. "I don't want to die, Caroline," he admitted, sounding as scared as she once did dying in her childhood bedroom. "But I will do it to save Hope."

"God, who gave you a kid?" Her voice was wry, and his lips quirked up into a small grin. "I get it," she sighed. "I really do. I would burn the world to protect my girls, will probably have to once the Gemini Coven crap kicks in."

Klaus took a deep breath, a frustrated tension building between them. "You'll find a way."

"You're allowed to give up," she muttered sadly. "What if..." Caroline trailed off, wrapping her arms around her legs. "We never did make it to Rome."

"If I had one more day," he swore, the beginning of many a regretful promise. But he didn't have another day, not with Hope at risk. "Will you take care of her for me?"

Her lips pressed together into a thin line as she studied him in thought. "No," she finally answered, and he couldn't help the hollow sensation in his chest at her decisive tone. "But she has Rebekah and Freya, Kol. Elijah. I'll help them any way I can."

Shaking his head, Klaus felt frantic. "She and Elijah can barely speak, not with Hayley's death haunting them. And the others... Freya is human, Kol and Rebekah desperately wishing they could be as well. What happens if they're all gone?"

Caroline shrugged. "Then she still has a friend. It's not like I have any last loves sticking around for my eternity anymore." She glanced up, huffing out a hoarse laugh. "In any scenario, did you imagine that Hope would be the Mikaelson I keep in touch with?"

"Sweetheart-" He felt wrecked looking out the window to see the first orange flares of sunset streaking the sky. "I wanted so much for you."

"Looks like I get to figure it out for myself now," she said, following his gaze to the window. "One day, I'll lose everyone I've ever loved in this life." Klaus stood slowly, turning a worried eye on her. Glancing up, she met his concern with a sad look of _age_. "It's nothing new, I've known it for years. But this is the first time I'm realizing that I might have to face that grief alone."

And just like that, she turned away. He needed to find Hope, to help the Saltzman girls prepare the ritual. In that moment, though, he couldn't help but stare at Caroline for a bit longer, a profound loss echoing in the cavern of his chest.

The loss of what might have been.


	7. Bleak

**Klaroline Appreciation Week Day 7:** Emotions

 _It hurts to see him give up._

* * *

Hope danced, blissfully unaware of her father's stupid plan as Caroline watched him soak in one last night before it all went to hell. Her heart clenched at the almost serene look on his face; worse, she couldn't even blame him. The promise of an eternity turned bleak at the thought of losing a child.

To be completely honest with herself, Caroline's future looked pretty bleak without him, too. She was tired of saying goodbye. "You're not going to tell her?"

"Not yet," Klaus answered, not looking back. He didn't want to glance away for even a moment. "I need her to focus on turning, preparing herself."

"She might not take the news well," Caroline pointed out. _I know I'm not_. "Did I ever tell you about how my dad died? He thought he was making a noble choice, too." Shaking her head, she couldn't help the disappointment flooding through her. "Idiot. He would have loved the girls, seeing them grow up. But he missed it, all because he couldn't stomach a little blood."

Finally turning to glare at her, Klaus kept his voice low. "The Hollow is bit more precarious than feeding, sweetheart, and I can't allow it to consume Hope."

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Duh, but you don't have to throw away your life for it either."

"What would you have me do?"

"What happened to the Original Hybrid that marched in and got his way, anyone and everyone else be damned?" she shot back, elbows shoved out from where her hands angrily set on her hips. "All you want, all at once, and you're giving up."

Klaus clenched his hands into fists, turning back to Hope. "For her? Absolutely."

Letting out a deep breath, Caroline fought against the sting of tears. 'Hopelessness' seemed too on-the-nose for the situation, but she couldn't begin to define how she was feeling past a futile despair. She couldn't exactly fault Klaus for saving his daughter, as much as she wanted to. _All he wanted, all at once_. The words she threw so casually back in his face cut her like knives, the tempting possibilities held _just_ out of reach thanks to evil magic. God, so much for last loves.

No. _No!_ "That is not a solution, and you're not even trying to buy yourself time." Caroline turned on her heel, utterly done with the conversation and already headfirst in fix-it mode. Pulling out her phone, she tapped a contact she barely used. "Rebekah? I need to get ahold of Elijah before I kill Klaus myself."


	8. In a Century

**Klaroline Appreciation Week 2018 Day 8:** Free Choice

 _Klaus tempted her to show up at his door in a year or a century, but 117-year-old Caroline doesn't exactly have that opportunity anymore._

* * *

She walked down the Parisian street, the scent of fresh bread just barely winning over the murkier odor of the Seine. Taking a deep breath, Caroline let it out with a light sigh. It was a good day.

Her hundredth birthday was a fanfare celebrated with great-grandchildren, Bennett descendants and supernatural friends she'd picked up over the years. At 117, though, she couldn't resist a melancholy solitude as the anniversary of her transition came and went. A century of blood and restraint and she didn't want to note the occasion with anyone in particular.

Well, that wasn't entirely true.

A few friends had called, reaching triple digits something of an achievement among the younger vampire crowd she'd fell in with during a decade's tour through Latin America. The last Gilbert-Salvatore left a message, once again inviting her out to the boarding school as visiting faculty, an invitation she was wont to accept on occasion. Mystic Falls might have fallen victim to the changing times like anywhere else, but it never failed to feel like home to her. _Home_ wasn't the feeling she was looking for, though.

It was a nice bottle of champagne sitting on her beachfront porch in Greece that had spurred her quick jaunt to France. There was no mystery to the gift; Rebekah Mikaelson could hardly be described using any form of the word 'subtle.' Now an aging woman chasing around teenagers of her own, the utter humanness of her hand-crafted card still held a hint of glamour Caroline associated with the Originals.

Original, she should say, as Rebekah was the last one standing. Although she was the one to send a gift, it was another Mikaelson that Caroline was thinking of as she ducked into a boulangerie for a pastry.

The day she would have turned eighteen, Klaus saved her from dying a second, more permanent death. He had promised her a hundred more birthdays if she wanted them, and she couldn't help but wonder what he might think of the Caroline she had become. Surviving everyone she had known and loved during that first, mortal life changed her.

She desperately searched for purpose, especially once Lizzie passed away. Josie had clung to her at the funeral, her daughter looking more like her grandmother. It was a devastating truth she had yet to reckon with, that Josie was aging every day and she would lose her, too. Orphan, widow, then a mother without children. Even thirty years since that final loss, Caroline couldn't bear to look at the scrapbooks she'd taken great pains to fill during their childhood. The past just _hurt_ in a way that forced Caroline to live in the present, to enjoy each day as it came.

No matter how much she tried to move on, however, she felt a need to honor those that help to shape her. All the people she once loved in some fashion or another carried on in little habits that kept their memory alive in less painful moments. She kept diaries like Stefan, to process her life and put it in perspective. Tyler wanted to be free, to live life on his terms. Enzo took none of it for granted. Bonnie learned to be her own champion, Elena built up others. Long gone, yet outlasted most, Matt was a reminder to appreciate humanity and the struggle of living well.

In more practical terms, Klaus found a way to profit from his hobbies; Rebekah made sure to look fabulous doing it. Katherine was a survivor, turned _her_ into a survivor through a gauntlet of Hellmouth proportions.

But as she ate a buttery croissant over a crossword, rapid French conversation flowing around her, Caroline missed her mom most of all. Despite all the personality quirks she hoarded from lost friends and enemies, her mom would want her to remember who she was and to remain true to herself. It wasn't always easy; it actually grew more difficult as she felt a greater disconnect from the human life she'd once held dear. But she tried, and wasn't that Caroline Forbes at her core?

Smiling, Caroline abandoned her paper and started to head back to the apartment she kept in town. She pulled out her phone, tapping a familiar contact to return an earlier call. "Hey, Hope, I'm feeling nostalgic. Let's meet in Tokyo. I can tell you all about the grand promises your dad once made to a baby vampire."

* * *

 **A/N: Many thanks to all who've supported this series, I only wish we could have had better canon to satisfy our hurts. At the very least, we'll always have fanon. 3**


End file.
